


Seasons of Love

by LeisurelyPanda



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Blind Date, Boys In Love, Dating, Declarations Of Love, Demisexual Steve Rogers, Despite the title, Domesticity, Falling In Love, Fluff, Foot Massage, Graduation, Kissing, Kissing in the Snow, Light Angst, M/M, Matchmaker Peggy Carter, Moving In Together, Non-Explicit Sex, Not a Rent AU, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Snowball Fight, Strangers to Lovers, Student Steve Rogers, Thundershield - Freeform, Veterinarian Thor, art student steve rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-09 03:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15258360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeisurelyPanda/pseuds/LeisurelyPanda
Summary: Just as Steve was about to get up and leave, someone walked through the door. Steve looked and his mouth dropped. It was none other than Thor Odinson, the figure of Steve’s fantasies and desire, stood at the entrance. He glanced down at his phone before looking up to scan the room before his eyes fell on Steve. And stayed. Then he smiled and walked straight towards him.Steve had all of 30 seconds to consider whether to run or if this was actually a dream. Thor looked divine. He was dressed in a wine red sports coat over a grey V-neck and black slacks. His long, golden hair was tied back in a simple ponytail with a few loose strands framing his face. He had a few inches on Steve and he was still a little bigger, but damn, he was still completely gorgeous. Steve’s mouth went dry as Thor pulled the chair across from Steve and sat down.“Thor!” Steve said.





	1. Autumn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roe87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roe87/gifts).



> This work was betaed by the wonderful and talented, [GoldBlooded](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldBlooded/works). She's a gem and I loves her lots. <3
> 
> This work is also for [roe87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roe87/pseuds/roe87), who writes great Stucky fics, if that's your thing. They also asked for something short, cute, and fluffy, so here it is!

“You know, this is a terrible idea,” Steve said.

“I will forgive you for insinuating that I have terrible ideas of any sort,” Peggy shot back. Steve gulped. _Bad idea_ , he thought.

Still, it didn’t do much to quell the churning in his stomach. A blind date. Peggy had set him up with a blind date to help him get over his crush, Thor Odinson. It was ridiculous, honestly, but since Steve was now going on a year of pining for the guy, he didn’t really see much of an alternative. It started the first time Steve had taken a biology lab. Thor was the graduate assistant as a graduate student studying biology or something at NYU. Steve knew what he was doing for the most part, but the people he had been paired with were… clueless. Thor stopped by frequently to help them.

After that, when Steve started his growth spurt and started becoming a gym rat, he spotted Thor frequently across the room. He never had the courage to walk up to him, though, despite the needling from Bucky and Peggy.

If he was into women at all, he would have gone for Peggy. She was smart, witty, powerful, utterly confident, and gorgeous. He admitted this to her drunkenly one night, to which she said that if she were at all into men, she would have happily accepted his proposal.

Interestingly enough, it was pretty similar to what Steve’s best friend, Bucky, said to him during high school. If Bucky was interested in men, he would have dated Steve in a heartbeat. That both of them said that when he was a little guy was both surprising and gratifying.

Alas, the two of them were forever destined to be friends, not that Steve had a problem with that. Steve was the one who was responsible for setting her up with her current girlfriend, Angie Martinelli. He met Angie in one of his elective classes and after the three of them had hung out a few times, learned that she had a thing for Peggy. He encouraged Angie to ask Peggy out and after about a month of needling, she’d done it.

Three months later and they were still going strong from what he could tell. Which made his situation with Thor even more frustrating.

“What if he doesn’t find me attractive?” he asked. Peggy moved back from where she was fixing his hair to give him a long, steady look.

“Steve, if you say one more thing that ridiculous, I swear I will throw my red scarf in with your white laundry,” she declared. Steve blushed.

“Sorry, Peg,” he said.

“Steve, the growth spurt you had in the past year has been nothing short of incredible,” she said. “I could understand where you were coming from if we were doing this last year, but honestly, look at yourself! Any guy would trip over themselves to have you.”

Steve turned to look into the mirror of their apartment. She was right. This time last year, he had barely been 100 pounds. Now he was 200 and much of that was solid muscle. His asthma corrected itself, his vision stabilized, and his acne cleared. It was almost as if some higher power took pity on him and gave him the body of a high school quarterback to make up for years of poor health. Over the course of a year, all his clothes stopped fitting and since he was no longer a frail weakling, he started working out and found that he enjoyed it.

“Sorry, Peg.”

“Stop apologizing. I think I’m done with your hair,” she said.

Steve barely recognized himself sometimes. The person in the mirror was an Adonis. One glance at him and nearly everyone would see an athlete, a jock, someone who got into school because of his body rather than his brains or because he wanted to do something with his art. Underneath the blue button down and black jeans were stretch marks, the only evidence that he had been anything but what he was now.

He liked the way he looked, certainly, but it still surprised him sometimes to see this version of him. It still didn’t feel like… him, almost.

“Your date is going to have an aneurysm when he sees you,” she said with a huge smile. Steve blushed at the praise. _Maybe it won’t be so bad_ , he thought.

* * *

An hour later, Steve was sitting in restaurant waiting for his date to arrive. Whoever he was, he was 10 minutes late and Steve was starting to squirm. His mind immediately started concocting worst case scenarios, mostly along the lines that whoever it was had decided that they had better things to do than show up for a blind date. It was all Steve could do to not stuff his face with breadsticks and run out the door.

Just as he was about to get up and leave, someone walked through the door. Steve looked and his mouth dropped. It was none other than Thor Odinson, the figure of Steve’s fantasies and desire, stood at the entrance. He glanced down at his phone before looking up to scan the room before his eyes fell on Steve. And stayed. Then he smiled and walked straight towards him.

Steve had all of 30 seconds to consider whether to run or if this was actually a dream. Thor looked divine. He was dressed in a wine red sports coat over a grey V-neck and black slacks. His long, golden hair was tied back in a simple ponytail with a few loose strands framing his face. He had a few inches on Steve and he was still a little bigger, but damn, he was still completely gorgeous. Steve’s mouth went dry as Thor pulled the chair across from Steve and sat down.

“Thor!” Steve said. His face was quickly turning red as his entire body burned. “Hi! Wh-what are you…?”

 _Great job, Rogers_ , he thought. _That’s exactly what you should be saying to the guy you’ve been mooning after for the past year._

Thor smiled as though Steve hadn’t just proven that he was a gigantic ball of awkward nerves.

“I was informed that my mystery date would be wearing a blue button down shirt and black jeans,” he said warmly. _God damn his voice is sexy_ , Steve thought helplessly. “So unless you happen to have seen another man matching that description, I assume that you are my date.”

Duh, Rogers, Steve thought. “Uh, yeah, I guess that’s true. It’s uh… good to see you again.”

Thor’s warm smile never wavered, though his head tilted to side a bit. “I am afraid you have me at something of a disadvantage,” he said. “You seem to know me, but I am afraid I do not know you. You do look familiar, however.”

 _Of course he doesn’t_ , Steve thought.

“Steve Rogers,” he said. “You were the GA for the biology class during the fall semester last year.”

Thor’s eyes narrowed as he searched his face. After a moment realization dawned on him and his entire face shifted into an expression of shock. Thor openly looked him up and down.

“Do you have a picture of yourself from last year?” he asked. Steve chuckled and fumbled with his phone a bit until he brought up a before/after picture of himself between Bucky and Peggy. He flipped it around and showed his date. Thor looked up in disbelief. “What happened to you?”

“Docs were stumped,” Steve said, chuckling through the blush on his face. “As best they could figure, I was a really late late-bloomer and it apparently decided to hit me all at once.”

“Indeed,” Thor said with amazement. “You look amazing.”

 _Oh God help me._ Steve couldn’t help but smile bashfully at that.

“Thanks. You, uh, you look pretty great, too.”

“Thank you, Steve,” Thor replied with a gracious smile.

The date was less awkward after that. Thor, it turned out, was incredibly interested in biology that hadn’t come out during the class because he was required to teach to the specified course requirements. Thor was knowledgeable about a great deal, not just about biology. He was widely read, which Steve wasn’t expecting between his impressive physique and his job as a GA. They were both, it turned out, fans of fantasy books.

“I am not a fan of _Game of Thrones_ , I must admit,” Thor said with a grimace. “It is too grim and George R. R. Martin’s writing style is long winded and exhausting to follow.”

“Thank you!” Steve said. “My friends can’t understand why I don’t read the books. ‘That’s the point of the books,’ they always say.”

“I prefer Brandon Sanderson and Michael Sullivan, honestly,” Thor said. “Their stories are fascinating and their styles are honestly better.”

Steve smiled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m really glad you didn’t turn out to be a snob about the whole reading thing, if you know what I mean.”

Thor chuckled and the sound made Steve feel warm as it chased away some of the nerves that were still around.

“I read enough dry science articles for school and my internship at the clinic, and my job as a GA,” Thor said. “I do not wish for the books I read during my leisure time to be similar.”

Steve whistled. “How do you have time for anything else?”

“I suppose I have learned to read quickly,” Thor replied. “Besides, the labs are simple enough that I can tell if students got it right and what they got wrong if they didn’t.”

The dinner was pretty decent, as far as the restaurants near NYU campus were concerned. Steve was glad that he was dating someone with an appetite. His own appetite skyrocketed around the time his growth spurt started and it persisted afterwards. He had been worried about eating a lot in front of a date who… well, didn’t. It was certainly not anything fine dining or with new, edgy cooks trying to be the next big thing. It was good enough for Steve though. What surprised him at the end was Thor insisting on paying for the meal.

“You don’t need to do that, Thor,” Steve said. Thor smiled.

“I do not mind, Steve,” Thor replied. “I am the one with a job, after all.”

Steve relented reluctantly. He did technically have a job, but it was just a work study at one of the art studios on campus, but honestly he didn’t get enough hours or get paid enough for it to make any difference. All his bills were paid with loans, except for food and transportation. More than once he considered getting a second job, but he was drowning in work as it was.

Thor paid the bill and they left together. Steve blushed as Thor took his hand as they headed out the door. Rather than heading to the bus stop that Steve had used to get there, Thor led him to a local ice cream parlor. Thor walked inside and the chill was a welcome relief from the mid-September heat.

“If it makes you feel better, you can buy dessert,” Thor said.

“I’m starting to think that you’re only interested in me for my money,” Steve said. Thor threw his head back and laughed, earning them a few perturbed looks from the other patrons.

“My clever scheme is up in smoke, it would appear,” Thor said.

“At least you bought me dinner first.”

Thor bought a cone of mint ice cream as Steve bought rocky road. They left with their cones and strolled down the streets of New York chatting easily. Conversation came naturally and Steve was grateful that it wasn’t nearly as awkward as he had feared.

“So what is it that you want to do with your degree?” Steve asked. “Sorry for, like, dropping the big question, but I’m curious.”

Thor laughed good-naturedly. “I want to be a veterinarian, actually. Which is good, considering I graduate at the end of the year.”

Steve paused and looked at him. “Really? You want to take care of dogs and cats and stuff? I…”

Thro smiled a bit sheepishly. “Yes?”

“I… guess I wasn’t expecting that,” Steve said.

“Indeed, many do not,” Thor said. “My parents expected me to try and become a doctor, but truthfully, I prefer working with animals, even if it means that I will make less money.”

“That’s fair.”

“And you? Turnabout seems fair play with this dreaded question.”

“Heh. Right. Well, I guess I don’t know aside from wanting to be an artist,” Steve said. “I mean, that’s my major, right?”

“Steve, my undergrad major was pre-med,” Thor said. “Just because you major in one thing does not mean you need to follow through with it.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still only 20 years old,” Steve replied. “People have been telling me that I need to know what I’m doing with the rest of my life since I was, like, 5. Still have no idea what the hell is going on, though.”

“None of us know what we are doing, if you can believe it,” Thor replied. “I am 25 and I still only have a vague idea.”

Steve whistled. “So what comes next?”

“I will be Dr. Thor Odinson and I suppose I will either find a practice or start one,” Thor replied. “I have been working at a vet clinic since January and one of the doctors is retiring next year, so perhaps I will take their job, if it is possible.”

“Seems like your life is coming together,” Steve said. Thor reached across the table and took his hand.

“Give it time, Steve,” Thor said. “You will find your way eventually.”

Steve blushed and smiled. Thor stroked the back of his hand with his thumb. It felt… well, it felt nice. Steve quietly hoped, as the conversation went on, that Thor wouldn’t get tired of holding his hand. He didn’t.

Thor didn’t just walk him back to the bus stop where Steve got off. He got on the bus with him and walked him to the door of his apartment. As far as dates were concerned Steve wasn’t sure what to expect, but this wasn’t it. It was nice.

“This is me,” Steve said. “Thanks for coming tonight, Thor. I… I had a great time.”

Thor smiled and stepped into Steve’s space looking into his eyes. Steve’s brain short circuited as he smelled Thor’s cologne; warm, musky, and masculine. His eyes were the bluest Steve had ever seen. Steve briefly forgot how to breathe.

“I enjoyed your company as well, Steve,” Thor said. Steve swallowed as Thor leaned in, laid a hand against Steve’s face, and kissed him. Steve closed his eyes and kissed back. His heart was racing as his hands shakily rose to caress Thor’s jaw. His beard was surprisingly soft and smooth against his skin.

Almost as soon as it began, it was done and Steve breathed again. Thor turned to descend back down the steps.

“Thor,” Steve said. Thor turned around with a curious look on his face. “Can I… have your number?”

Thor smiled and walked back up to take Steve’s phone. He entered his number into it and handed it back with a wink.

“I look forward to doing this again sometime,” Thor said before he descended back down the steps.

Steve walked into his apartment and took a huge breath as he collapsed against the door. He saw his roommates, Bucky and Sam, sitting on the couch. Bucky and Sam were nodding in approval while Peggy simply wore a sly smile. It took him a minute to realize that they had watched the kiss from one of the windows. He scowled in disapproval at them.

“So how’d it go, Stevie?” Bucky asked.

“Fine.”

“Fine, huh?” he echoed. “Seem a little short of breath, there. You sure it was ‘just fine’?”

“Come now, boys. Leave him alone, you ought not have spied on him and Thor, anyway,” Peggy said.

“Spoilsport,” Bucky grumbled.

“Speaking of Thor,” Steve said. “Care to explain why you didn’t tell me who my date was?”

Peggy leveled him with a dry look. “Would you have really gone if I told you who was meeting you?”

 _Fair enough_ , he thought. But he didn’t have to admit it. He groaned and stalked off to his room. As soon as he was alone, he leaned back on the door and grinned at the memory of Thor’s lips. It was… a great kiss, honestly. Not that Steve had much in the way of experience with kissing. He hadn’t kissed anyone since he was in high school, actually and he had that brief, short-lived relationship with Jake. His first kiss in three years and Steve was still reeling from it.

He looked down at his phone to see a text from Thor.

Thor: _Sleep well, Steve :)_

 _I’m so fucked_ , Steve thought with a smile.


	2. Winter

_I’m so fucked_ , Steve thought. He was seriously considering dropping his art major in favor of something that was probably more practical like business or accounting or something. That, or something that was at least related to art, like architecture or graphic design. He was drowning in works and projects that all needed to be done and submitted for evaluation in just a few days.

And on top of everything else, he had a fight with Thor a week ago. It was something silly, but it was still sort of upsetting for him. Thor said that he was glad that he hadn’t looked like this in his class last year because he would have been tempted to do something... indecent. Steve knew that he probably hadn’t meant it that way, but still.

He had tried dating once his body started… filling out, but it was infuriating, honestly. Guys seemed to want to skip straight to the sex instead of figuring out who he beneath bulging muscles and a pretty face. Even before his growth spurt, most of his dating experiences focused on sex. That wasn’t really what Steve was looking for.

That was what made what Thor said last week all the more frustrating. He and Thor had had sex for the first time and after that was when Thor dropped that line. Steve had shut down, gotten dressed and walked out, ignoring Thor’s confused shouts chasing his heels.

He drew his mouth into a line and fought the tears that threatened to fall for days. He tried focusing on the piece in front of him. This semester focused on watercolor painting. It was honestly an extremely frustrating medium for him. Steve preferred sketching and drawing, but painting was part of the whole art major thing, so he toughed it out. He was looking forward to next semester when he was scheduled to start taking more classes on charcoal, black and white drawing, and such. But he had to survive this semester first.

He glanced outside. It was dark already. He looked at the time on his phone. He also ignored the latest texts from his boyfriend. Thor had been texting him all week trying to figure out what he had done wrong. It was nearly 9:00. He groaned. He would be lucky if he got to sleep for a few hours tonight. More likely he would have to nap when he could and pull all-nighters for the next few days if he was going to be able to finish on time.

He groaned and got up. He needed a break from the paint fumes. Several other students were busy working on their final projects, too. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff were really the only people he knew. Wanda had a knack for the watercolors that Steve frankly envied. If anyone was going to make it big in the art world when they graduated, it would be her. Pietro took the class as an elective. He majored in music and honestly, watching his fingers fly across the piano was mesmerizing.

He grabbed his coat and walked outside, sighing as the cold air hit his skin. The space heaters in the art studio didn’t do much to keep the cold out, but it was still warmer than the outdoors. He leaned against the brick wall and closed his eyes. Maybe if he focused hard enough he could make time slow down so that he might actually be able to get stuff done. Or take a nap that he woke up feeling rested from. Either would be immensely helpful right now.

“Steve,” said a voice. It startled him out of his reverie and he opened his eyes to find Thor standing in front of him. The man looked haggard, honestly. The bags under his eyes seemed to have doubled since the last time Steve saw him.

“Thor,” Steve replied.

“I, uh, brought you some coffee,” he said. “I thought you… that you might have some use for it.”

Steve accepted the huge cup and took a cautious sip. He was surprised to find that it was pretty much exactly how he took his coffee; black with sugar. It was also a pretty decent blend, clearly not the typical Starbucks brand coffee.

“Thanks, Thor. I appreciate it,” he replied.

They stood awkwardly for a moment, neither one really sure what to say about what had happened. Steve knew that Thor wanted to know, but honestly he had been avoiding this conversation all week.

“Look, Steve, I… apologize for upsetting you,” Thor said. “Whatever it was that I said, I assure you that I did not mean to cause you distress.”

“I know, Thor,” Steve murmured. “Thank you.”

They stood there for a while. Steve took a few long drags form his coffee, trying to will himself to have the energy to finish at least one of his works tonight before he called it a day. Maybe it was placebo or the caffeine, but he did feel slightly more awake than he did a minute ago. He would take what he could get at this point.

“You know,” Steve said. “What you said, about being glad that I didn’t have this body a year ago.”

“That is what upset you?” Thor asked.

“Yeah. I just… it’s strange, you know?” Steve said.

“What is strange?”

“Having a body like this,” Steve said, holding out his arms. “I identify as Demisexual. When I was a scrawny little guy, I got attention. Not as much as I might have liked, but still. It was frustrating having guys come up to me just so they could have sex.”

“I see.”

“Imagine what it’s like now,” Steve continued. “I walk into bars and stuff and all people want from me is to bend them over and fuck them into tomorrow in the bathroom or something.”

Thor was quiet for a moment before he closed the distance between them and hugged him gently. It was a bit awkward with the coffee in Steve’s hand, but Steve still found himself leaning into Thor’s embrace. The tears fought to escape his eyes and he let them. He missed this, honestly, as much as he had been upset with his boyfriend.

“I am sorry, Steve,” Thor whispered. “I did not mean to make you feel like I only found you attractive for your body, or that I did not find you attractive before.”

Steve was about to reply when the words hit him. “You were attracted to me before?” he asked.

Thor chuckled softly. “Why do you think I stopped by your group to see if you needed help so often?”

“Probably because my partners had no idea what they were doing?” Steve supplied helpfully.

“That, too,” Thor said. “But I also marveled at your intellect. I was shocked to discover that you were not majoring in one of the sciences. You are so smart and you understood what I taught so well. If it were not for you and a handful of other students, I would have wondered if I was actually doing my job well at all.”

Steve blushed at the praise. He knew Thor thought he was smart. It was nice to hear, though. For some reason, he always felt more validated by being told he was smart or that his art was good than he was by compliments about his body. Not that he didn’t appreciate them, but not from random strangers.

“I also thought your ass was spectacular,” Thor whispered in his ear. Steve huffed a laugh at that. “It is true, I find you more attractive now, but I was still tempted to ask you to stay after class just to make some kind of conversation with you so I could watch you leave without worrying that you would disappear into the crowd.”

Steve pulled back with a small smile. “Really?”

“Yes. I hated the fact that you were in my class. It would have been unethical to pursue you,” Thor said. He leaned in to kiss his forehead. “I am glad that I can do so now.”

Steve smiled. “I’m glad, too,” Steve replied. “I had a huge crush on you since that class. Never thought you actually noticed me.”

Thro pulled back to stare fondly into Steve’s eyes. Steve’s breath caught as Thor leaned in to kiss him. It was slow and gentle. Steve found himself melting into it, sighing at the familiar, comforting feeling of Thor’s arms, his beard against his skin. He hadn’t realized just how much he missed this simple comfort of Thor’s presence. It pushed the worries and concerns of finals back just a little bit.

Steve pulled back and looked at Thor. His face was strangely sheepish and hopeful, a small smile curved on his lips.

“Am I forgiven?” he asked.

Steve took another long sip form his coffee. It really was quite good. “You brought me coffee on a night when I might have to stay up until morning,” he said. “Yeah, I’d say you’re forgiven.”

“I am glad to hear it, thank you,” Thor replied. “How late do you think you will be up?”

Steve exhaled slowly. “Depends on when I get this latest piece done,” he said. “It’s, what, 9:30 now? I’ll probably be up until at least 2:30, maybe later.”

Thor’s eyebrows rose. “Would you… consider coming to my apartment when you are done? It is closer than yours, after all.”

“Thor, I’m really not gonna have energy to have sex tonight,” Steve said.

“I was not proposing that we have sex,” Thor replied. “Merely that you diminish your travel time so you may rest more.”

“Then… I’d like that,” Steve said. “Thank you. Just… don’t wait up for me, okay? You don’t need to be going to the clinic tomorrow dead on your feet.”

“Steve, it is finals and I am studying veterinary science in my last year before I become certified as a veterinarian,” Thor replied. “It is not likely that I will be getting much sleep whether or not you finish early.”

Steve blinked. That made sense. Becoming a doctor wasn’t easy, even if it was for animals rather than people. It was nice to know that he wouldn’t wake his boyfriend up in the event that he was up later than he was expecting.

“Guess that’s what coffee’s for, huh?”

“Indeed,” Thor replied with a chuckle. “Do me a favor and try not to wear yourself out tonight. Finals week is just beginning. You need your strength.”

Steve grinned. “Sure, as long as you take your own advice.”

“You wound me,” Thor said.

Steve ignored him and turned around to head back into the studio. As much as he enjoyed making banter with Thor, he really needed to get his work done. He no sooner turned around than he felt Thor slap his ass. He yelped in surprise more than pain and turned around. Thor grinned and winked at him before heading off.

* * *

Steve made better time than he was expecting, especially considering his surprise visit from Thor. His mind was free from the distress and anxiety that had been plaguing him all week. It didn’t help him finish the piece he was working on that much faster, though. He decided to call it a night around 3 and bid farewell to Wanda before heading out.

It was snowing when he stepped outside. It was a good thing that Thor didn’t live far from this part of campus. It didn’t take long before Steve was ringing the bell to be let in. Thor showed up a couple minutes later and smiled.

“There you are,” he said just before he yawned. “I was beginning to wonder if you simply chose to stay there until morning.”

“You’re hilarious,” Steve deadpanned. “You done with your stuff?”

“For now,” Thor said. “There will be enough to keep me busy until finals are over. Now is as good a time to stop as any.”

He stood aside and let Steve into the apartment. The apartment wasn’t all that impressive, really. Thor wasn’t one of those insanely rich grad students. It was warm and homey, though. The kitchen table was piled high with books, papers, and whatever it was Thor and his roommates were working on at the moment.

Steve dropped his bag off and kicked his shoes off by the door. Thor took his hand and led him to the bedroom. Steve felt his shoulders droop. He suddenly felt so tired he could feel it in his bones.

Thor’s bed was enormous. Considering the fact that Thor and Steve were huge guys, it was a good thing. Steve barely fit on the twin size mattress he had at his apartment. Thor walked over to the dresser and got out some pajama pants and gave them to Steve.

“Are these yours?” Steve asked.

Thor blushed. “Uh, I may have bought you some pajamas that night we…”

“I’m sorry for leaving like I did that night,” Steve said quietly. “I should have stayed, told you why I was upset.”

Thor caressed his face gently. “You told me tonight,” Thor whispered. “That is all that matters. I am grateful that you did.”

“Even though you had to track me down to get me to do it?” Steve asked.

“I will allow that this once,” Thor replied. “If you think to make me do that every time we have a fight, I will eventually stop. But that is talk for later. I am tired, and you look like you could use some rest, as well. Let’s go to bed.”

They changed into their pajamas and Steve literally fell onto Thor’s bed. It felt heavenly. Clearly someone had spent a pretty penny buying the damn thing. It was soft, to the point that Steve felt like he was sleeping on a cloud. He felt Thor’s arms wrap around his body and pull him closer until Steve’s back was flush against Thor’s chest. It took him a couple minutes to realize that they hadn’t done this last time. They cuddled, just not in bed. It was nice. Thor’s warm body lulled Steve into the deepest sleep he’d had all week.

* * *

Finals ended with Steve collapsing onto the ground after his last appraisal finished. Somehow, whether it was some divine miracle, the professor having pity on him, or some honest accomplishment that led to him actually making some quality art, he didn’t care. It was over. The entire semester was over. He dropped onto his back and fell into the snow outside the art building. Steve closed his eyes began making a snow angel. A moment later he heard a chuckle and opened his eyes to see Thor standing over him.

“Are you considering a new artistic style or are you lamenting an unfortunate appraisal?” Thor asked.

“Ha ha,” Steve replied. “I’m just glad it’s all over. I actually did well, believe it or not.”

“I never doubted,” Thor said, dropping down on the ground beside him. He began making a snow angel as well and Steve chuckled. “Shall we see who made the superior angel?”

“You’re on,” Steve said with a grin. They got up. “Clearly mine’s better.”

“Yours? Clearly your eyes are strained from constant effort,” Thor scoffed.

“Your angel has footprints on it,” Steve pointed out.

“My apologies. I forgot to consult my handy levitation guide to prevent footprints.”

“Well see, I just swept mine off,” Steve said, dragging his foot across the surface.

“So what you mean to say is that you cheated,” Thor said, stepping into Steve’s space. Steve grinned up at him.

“What’cha gonna do about it, big guy?” he asked. Thor looked down at him, his eyes wandering over Steve’s face before settling on Steve’s lips.

“This,” he whispered.

He leaned in to kiss Steve and Steve moaned into the kiss. Until, that is, he suddenly felt snow down his back and his moan turned into an unholy shriek. He jumped away and shook himself until he managed to banish the offending snowball. Thor was laughing and running away.

“Get back here, you ass!” Steve shouted. He formed a snowball for each hand and chased after his tricky boyfriend. Thor kept his distance and bombarded him with snowballs. Soon a full on war broke out. They fought until dark and Thor finally surrendered.

“So what do I get for winning?” Steve asked.

“Come home with me,” Thor said, his eyes dancing with mischief and promise. “I believe I can think of something while I… kneel in defeat.”

Steve hummed. “Can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos give me life, y'all! <3
> 
> Come [tumble](https://leisurelypanda.tumblr.com/) with me!


	3. Spring

Graduation was probably the most nerve wracking even of Steve’s life. Not because of watching Thor walk across the stage set up on the field in Yankee Stadium. That was fine. Nor was it the prospect of knowing that the next day he would start his internship at an art museum. He was nervous about it, but most likely he would just be getting coffee for dusty old curators and museum staff. No, what absolutely terrified Steve was his boyfriend’s family. 

The family was somewhere in the auditorium and Steve wasn’t about to bow out and run away, but he was also afraid of what they would think. Would they be disappointed that he wasn’t some fancy student who was studying medicine or law or politics? Would they think less of him for being an art major? Would they tell Thor that he could do better than Steve? Would they ask if he had any plans for his life or what to do with his art degree? 

The questions were so persistent that Steve actually jumped when the announcer read Thor’s name. He cheered loudly as Thor waved at the crowd while he walked across the stage. One of the cameras showed a hammer on Thor’s graduation cap. Thor had explained that it was because of his namesake from the myths. Steve thought it was cool and had agreed to actually put the hammer on Thor’s cap after seeing Thor’s piss-poor attempt at drawing it on paper. It wasn’t fancy, but it was neat and well done. Thor had been pleased, that was all that mattered. 

When the ceremony concluded, the crowd erupted into cheers as the graduating class threw their caps into the air. Afterwards, Steve tried to find his way through the crowd of people NYU was a big school and lots of people attended the graduation. Fortunately, Steve was taller and bigger than most of them, so people tended to let him through more readily. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find Thor in the sea of faces even though the guy was taller and bigger than Steve. 

_How does such a huge guy disappear in a crowd, anyway?_ Steve wondered. 

He eventually found Thor on a corridor along the third base line. He was surrounded by a few other people, all of them about as tall as he was. Thor smiled when he saw Steve and made a beeline towards him. He caught Steve in a fierce embrace and swung him around, laughing merrily in his ear before setting him down and kissing him. Steve smiled against his lips even as he felt flushed at the display in front of… whoever these people with Thor were. 

“You’re here! Wonderful! Steve, I would like you to meet my family,” Thor said, taking his hand. Steve looked over at the people gathered around. He was struck by the fact that they all looked elegant and put together, even beneath the heat of the sun and the crowds around them. 

“This is my mother,” Thor said, gesturing towards the woman. She was tall, with faded blond hair and gentle blue eyes that Thor clearly inherited. 

“So good to finally meet you, Steve,” she said warmly. “Thor has told us so much about you. Please, call me Frigga.”

Steve took her hand and blushed. “Not too much, I hope,” he replied, thinking back to some of their more reckless times together. Steve’s friends had been getting him out of scrapes his entire life and now they bemoaned the fact that his body could actually keep up with his recklessness. Sam loved it, and Thor was usually right there with him. 

“Only good things, I promise,” she said with a wink. “He talks a great deal about your budding artistic career. I hear you will be interning at the Brooklyn Museum this summer.”

Steve glanced at Thor and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Uh, yeah, I am. I’m sure it’ll just be me running around getting coffee for everyone, though.” 

“Perhaps it will, but even if it is, you may still learn more than you expect,” she said. 

“This is my father, Odin,” Thor said, gesturing to the older man. He seemed to be one of those men for whom age seemed more of an inconvenience than anything. He was broad, tall, and when Steve went to shake his hand, his grip was strong. The man made Steve nervous for some reason. 

“Good to meet you, lad,” Odin said. “I hope you will be a calming influence on my son. He can be somewhat headstrong and rash.”

“Father, please,” Thor groaned. 

Steve coughed. He got the feeling that Odin knew about some of the scrapes he and Thor had gotten into. In his defense, they hardly ever started the fights. They were more likely to intervene on other’s behalf. There was one time on a date when they actually ended up being late for their movie because there was a woman being harassed by a gaggle of men. Steve and Thor managed to chase them off, though, with only a couple bruises and scrapes to show for it. 

That sort of thing was fine. As long as whoever was telling the story left out the part where the guys had knives on them. Neither of them got hurt, but Steve received lengthy lectures from Peggy, Bucky, and his mom about not being an idiot. 

“I… can’t make any promises, sir,” Steve replied. “But I can try to keep him out of trouble.”

“How hard will you try?” Odin asked. 

“Not very,” Steve replied. 

“Come now, father, we can take care of ourselves,” Thor said. “You need not worry about our well-being.” 

“Indeed? We shall see, won’t we?” 

“Anyway,” the third stranger said. “I am Loki, Thor’s brother. Good to meet you at last, Steve. Thor has told me… a great deal about you.”

Steve looked at Thor, who failed to elaborate on what Loki might have meant by that statement. Steve shook Loki’s hand politely, unsure of what to say in reply. 

“Good to meet you, too, Loki,” he said. “Thor’s told me about you, too.”

“I dread to think,” Loki replied smoothly. 

Steve ended up spending the entire afternoon with Thor’s family as Thor made his rounds with the other members of his graduating class. A few newly graduated kids seemed to recognize him as their biology teacher and stopped to say hello. Steve recognized a few of the people Thor graduated with from social events or from running into them at Thor’s apartment while they were studying. At one point in the afternoon, Thor pulled him aside and held out his wallet. 

“You misplaced this,” he said. Steve’s hand flew to the back of his pants and found that his wallet was indeed missing. 

“How—?” 

“Loki swiped it about 10 minutes ago,” Thor replied. “You will get used to it. He has a habit of being mischievous, but he means no harm by it.”

Steve checked to make sure that the money was still there, anyway.

* * *

A couple weeks into the summer break and Steve was grateful not to have any deadlines. His internship was challenging and interesting, the job he got at a local bookstore for the summer was okay. Dealing with customers was stressful, but he managed. The boss seemed to actually like him, so that was a good sign. The only downside was that he was much busier than he had anticipated. Thor got a job at the clinic he interned at, as he predicted, so he was kept busy as well. 

It had been over a week and a half since they had seen each other last and frankly it was beginning to take a toll on Steve. Being Demisexual was fine, in theory, when he had been single and the interest in sex was limited to people he was interested in, but he and Thor had been together for nearly 9 months, now. He missed his boyfriend. 

He sighed as he kept walking towards his apartment. At this time of day he would probably be the only one home. Bucky would probably be at his internship at Stark and Sam was spending more and more time with his girlfriend, Maria, when he wasn’t working. It was probably just as well. Steve spent nearly the whole day being chewed out by customers because a shipment got screwed up and lots of people who had apparently been waiting for a certain book that was coming out today were left unsatisfied. A fact that they decided to take up with him. Loudly.

He sighed as he approached the door. He was debating whether to go work out tonight or sit on the couch to draw or watch TV. All of those options sounded appealing, to be honest. Working out would require that he be on his feet some more, though, and since he spent nearly all his time doing that anyway, he really just felt like sitting. That, and he had some ideas for drawing he wanted to work on. Steve had started drawing some of his ideas for a hero he was working on: Captain America. Peggy had volunteered to be his main writer since she was studying creative writing. 

He stopped outside his door. He could smell… food. And it smelled delicious. It smelled like Italian something or other. Steve’s stomach rumbled. He turned the lock and went inside, the smell of tomato sauce, garlic, and meat wafting through the apartment pulling him along like a siren call. Maybe Angie had decided to take pity on them again. Between him, Bucky, and Sam, none of them could do much in the way of cooking beyond boiling water for ramen. Which was fine, since the three of them tended to eat on campus, anyway. It did make weekends, and summer, tricky, though. 

He headed over to the kitchen to see what was going on. To his shock, Thor was standing at the stove, his hair tied back in a neat bun. He began to whistle idly as he stirred something in a pot. I’m dreaming, Steve thought. I’m actually dreaming. Thor’s here cooking food. 

“I didn’t know you could cook,” Steve said. Thor turned around and beamed at him. 

“Of course I can cook, Steve,” Thor replied. “I just never had the time when I was in school.”

“Speaking of time, shouldn’t you be at the clinic working your fancy new job and breaking hearts with your sexy, sensitive, animal-loving job?” Steve asked.

“I took the afternoon off,” Thor said with a shrug. “I longed to be in the company of my boyfriend.”

Steve blushed as he smiled and walked over to Thor. Thor wet the spoon down and wrapped his arms around Steve’s waist before kissing him gently. Steve moaned softly against his lips. He felt himself stir as Thor held him. Steve knew that he missed Thor, but apparently he had no idea just how much his body missed him, too. 

“I thought life was supposed to get less busy after the school year ended,” Steve said with a chuckle. Thor groaned. 

“Indeed. I find great satisfaction in my job, but I must admit that working full time is harder than I expected,” Thor said. Steve hummed and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. 

“So what are you making?” Steve asked. 

“Lasagna,” Thor replied with a grin. “It is almost done. If you will let me go so the sauce doesn’t burn, I will finish the preparations so that it can bake in the oven.”

“Need anything?” 

“I have everything I require, thank you,” Thor said.

Steve sat down at the kitchen table that was somehow still buried in papers and notebooks from the school year. Steve, Bucky, and Sam were supposedly going through the stuff and determining what they wanted to keep in case it came up later and what they wanted to toss. Bucky majored in engineering, so he would probably keep most of his stuff. Sam majored in aeronautics, so Steve had no idea. 

Steve’s art major made it difficult to decide. He could admit some of his stuff was… decent, if he was pressed. There was a charcoal drawing of Thor that he had submitted at the end of the fall semester as part of his final that he was proud of and he had gotten A’s in most of his classes, but Steve was never fully satisfied with his work.

When Thor was done with the lasagna and it was in the oven, he came over and sat down next to Steve. He looked around for a moment before he spotted something and snatched it up. 

“What’s this?” he asked. Steve looked up and he was instantly mortified. Thor was holding some early concept art that Steve had put together for his character, Captain America (who still didn’t have a proper name). 

“Oh, uh, that’s—that’s nothing,” Steve said. His face was blushing furiously as Thor stared at the parcel in his hands. 

“Really? Because it looks like someone called, ‘Captain America’,” Thor said. Steve groaned. 

“It’s dumb. You’ll laugh.”

Thor looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I promise that I will not laugh at you, Steve.”

“So… I started thinking about what I want to do. You know, with my art,” Steve said. “And, I got this idea. A scrawny little kid who gets turned into a big super soldier through scientific means, gets super strength, advanced healing, and all his other natural strengths and talents get pushed to their fullest potential.”

“Sounds fascinating. And familiar,” Thor said. “What does he do?”

“Punch Nazis, mostly,” Steve said. “I had this idea that it would happen in WWII.”

Thor grinned. “I approve of any reason to punch Nazis.”

Steve chuckled at that. “So, yeah, this is just the concept art for Captain America that I’ve come up with so far. Peggy volunteered to help me with the writing and everything because she’s good at that sort of thing.”

“I would love to read some, if you ever got it going,” Thor said. “Even if you did not, though, I would love to see what you come up with.”

Steve’s blush spread from his face to his neck. “Really?”

“Of course. Your art is truly incredible. You work hard at it and it shows.”

“Thanks, Thor,” Steve said. He got up and groaned as his feet shouted in protest. An entire day on his feet apparently meant that he didn’t want to do anything that involved getting up. 

“Are you okay?” Thor asked. 

“Yeah, it’s just, my feet hurt,” Steve said. “10 hours on my feet every day apparently hurts after a while.”

“Should I carry you to the couch?” Thor asked. 

“You don’t have to—AAAAH! Jesus!” Steve shouted. Thor had apparently decided to ignore him and carried him to the couch bridal style. Thor laid Steve down gently on the couch before he went to the satchel he carried around with him. He took something out that Steve didn’t recognize and sat down, pulled Steve’s feet into his lap, and took off his shoes and socks. 

“What are you up to?” Steve asked.

“Do you not trust me, Steve?” Thor asked with a gleeful gleam in his eye. 

“The jury is still out,” Steve replied. 

“I suppose I shall have to persuade them, then,” Thor said. He uncapped the bottle and spread some sort of oil on his hands before he took one of Steve’s feet and pressed his thumbs into him. Steve groaned at first, but it turned into a relieved laugh fairly quickly. 

“Fuck, Thor,” Steve moaned. “Oh Jesus, who taught you how to do this?”

“My mother,” Thor replied. “She used to do this for Loki and I when we were kids. Somehow, no matter what was wrong, it always made me feel better.” 

“Well, you won’t hear any complaints from me,” Steve said. 

He moaned as Thor pressed into his foot, massaging all the aches and pains that lingered there away. He also massaged up Steve’s calf and began to tease the tight muscle loose. Steve just laid his head down against the arm of the couch and accepted everything Thor gave. Eventually, Thor switched to Steve’s other foot and repeated the process. 

When Thor finished, he leaned over to kiss Steve before getting up to wash the oil off his hands. He returned with a glass of water and offered it to Steve. Steve sighed happily as he accepted the glass. 

“I love you,” Steve murmured as he closed his eyes. “You’re so good to me.”

Thor was silent for a while. Steve suddenly realized that he had said that out loud and his eyes flew open to search Thor’s face, ready to take it back if he had to. He’d known for a while, since spring break when they had spent a week hiking in the mountains, spending lazy mornings having sex in a cabin far away from stresses and worries. He’d held himself back, though. He was afraid that Thor might not feel the same way. 

Thor was beaming, though. His eyes shone with joy. He leaned over Steve and covered him with his body as he kissed him. 

“I love you, too, Steve,” he whispered against Steve’s lips. “I love you so much.” 

Thor nipped at Steve’s bottom lip and he gasped as he opened and let Thor’s tongue slide into his mouth. Steve felt his boner straining against his fabric of his pants. He felt Thor’s rubbed against him and he moaned into Thor’s mouth as the sweet, blissful friction caused electricity to course through his body. 

The timer went off to signal that the food was done and Thor groaned before kissing Steve one last time as he got up. Steve whined at the loss and Thor chuckled lowly. 

“I know, love,” he said. “But as much as I love you, I do not wish to see the apartment burn to the ground.”

“Spoilsport,” Steve grumbled. Thor leaned down and kissed him lightly. 

“Later, my love,” he promised.

Steve decided that he could live with that. He grinned stupidly as his heart swelled in size at the endearment. _I could get used to this_ , he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos give me life, y'all! <3
> 
> Come [tumble](https://leisurelypanda.tumblr.com/) with me!


	4. Summer

Steve’s birthday was coming up, which of course meant that his friends were up to something. Nearly all of them had given up on actually giving him things for special occasions. Steve didn’t really care one way or another about gifts and he usually felt awkward receiving them. He was terrible at buying gifts.

This year, though, Thor was up to something, too. Steve could practically smell it. While they had spent a great deal of time together since they confessed their love for each other, Thor was also beginning to spend a great deal of time with Steve’s friends. All of them became suspiciously quiet as soon as Steve entered the room, too. The only thing Thor needed to do was kiss him and Steve usually allowed himself to forget, but it was suspicious.

Not for the first time, Steve wished that his birthday was less conspicuous. Especially this year, since it was his 21st birthday. Bucky and Sam kept talking about going clubbing or getting wasted at a nearby bar. Steve was sort of indifferent to it all. He drank occasionally and sometimes he got drunk, but it wasn’t’ something he did all that often. He’d be happy just being able to spend the day with his friends and Thor, watching fireworks in Central Park with Thor, and going back to Thor’s place to make love until the wee hours of the morning came.

And sure, maybe somewhere in the middle of all that, there was room for having a couple drinks.

The weekend before the 4th, Thor was moving into his new apartment. Now that he finally had a job at a veterinary clinic, he wanted to have that impossible dream of having his own place, too. _How_ he managed to find his own place, Steve had no idea, but he did, and from what Steve could tell, it was pretty decent.

He thought that until he had to help Thor move a king size mattress up to the 5th floor, anyway. Not to mention the rest of the stuff, like new furniture, a couch, a couple armchairs, bookcases, tables, and everything else Steve could think of. The building didn’t have an elevator, either, so Steve was getting his workout for the day by helping Thor out with this.

Even so, by the time they actually got around to trying to move the bed set, Steve was feeling just a little cranky. And sore. And sweaty.

“Dammit, Thor, we could’ve just gotten a moving crew, you know,” he said as he awkwardly moved around the corner in the stairwell. “You know, the people who do this sort of thing for a living?”

“Shut up and move, Steve,” Thor replied. “We’re almost there. There are only 2 more floors to go.”

“Will this even fit in your room, Thor?” Steve demanded. “I mean, I know you’re a big guy and I’m a big guy, but where are we putting this thing?”

“Wherever it will fit, Steve,” Thor growled. “Less talking, more lifting. You’re the one who talks about how much stronger you are than you were before.”

Steve’s face might have burned with shame if it wasn’t already flushed with exertion. Thankfully, this was one of the last things they had to move and the only one left that was heavy or bulky. They would be able to relax, but God, Steve’s body burned. He wanted nothing more than sink to the floor of Thor’s new apartment and crash for a while.

Finally, despite much sweat and toil, they reached the apartment and took the mattress to the bedroom. The bed frame was pretty simple to set up and as soon as it was complete, Steve collapsed onto the bed.

“You know, I thought about getting you into bed today, but I was thinking of something along the lines of a christening,” Thor said with a chuckle. A second later, the bed sagged as Thor collapsed next to him. “I suppose that can wait while we catch our breath.”

“Sorry I snapped at you earlier,” Steve said.

“Think nothing of it, love,” Thor replied. “I have been through several moves in my life and all of them have been stressful. Tempers flare. It happens.”

“I always forget that you moved around a lot,” Steve said. “I grew up in Brooklyn. It’s hard to imagine living anywhere else.”

“I imagine many people living in this city feel the same way,” Thor said.

“Would you ever… move again?” Steve asked.

“It depends on the job, I suppose,” Thor said. Steve could hear the shrug in his voice. “But I find that I enjoy being in one place these days. I enjoy the stability and I enjoy having friends around.”

Steve smiled. “I can understand that.”

Thor rolled over and kissed him. “I like being with you, as well,” he said. “I confess that I wasn’t sure about moving to New York at first, but I am glad that I was able to meet you because of it.”

Steve kissed Thor back. It was soft, chaste, and sweet, even as Thor hovered over him. His familiar weight was comforting. Steve could smell his shampoo mingling with the scent of his sweat and musk. He grinned against Thor’s lips, content simply to cuddle and kiss until Thor moved away.

“Come on,” Steve said. “We still have a lot of work to do before this place is done.”

* * *

Steve’s birthday was marked by his friends practically dragging him out to a simple cookout in Central Park, one of the three days people were allowed to actually do that. So in Steve’s book, naturally, it was fancy and special. Naturally he resisted the whole way. Thor was finally the one who convinced him to let his hair down, so to speak, and go along with the plan.

It was practically mayhem. People from all over the city, maybe all of Manhattan, were clamoring to enjoy the park on Independence Day. Kids ran by screaming with various kinds of tiny fireworks and sparklers, people jogged by with their dogs, and everywhere there was someone sitting on the grass or milling about that it was hard to actually find a place to stake a claim and get some burgers and hot dogs going, let alone enough room to throw a frisbee or football around. But eventually they managed. It helped that, as busy as the park was, it was still a bit early for the nighttime fireworks crowd to show up. It would be nearly impossible to navigate, then.

It was a pretty relaxing day, all things considered. The sun was shining, Steve was with his friends, and every now and then he and Thor would sneak away to have a bit of private time. Once, Thor pinned him to a tree and kissed him, completely unashamed of public displays of affection. Steve blushed but it got his heart racing, even though they never did anything even remotely risqué besides kiss.

They spent the entire day running around the park, hanging out, drinking beer, and eating whatever it was Angie decided to cook on the grill. Between Steve, Thor, Bucky, Sam, Maria, a girl that Bucky met at Stark Industries named Natasha (they seemed to be getting along well), Peggy, and Angie herself, they ended up bringing a small mountain of food, since it was easier to buy in bulk than purchase food from the stands that set themselves up for the day.

By the time the sun began to go down, Steve was happily leaning his head on Thor’s shoulder as they sat beneath the shade of a large oak tree. Steve looked up at how the light filtered through the branches overhead. It was beautiful. If Steve wasn’t currently working on a comic with Peggy, he would probably try to capture just how the light looked like this. As it was, the comic was going… well, it was hard to tell how it was going.

“You are fretting, Steve,” Thor said. Steve could feel his voice rumbling in his chest. “You will surely turn old and grey before your time worrying as you do. On your birthday, too, of all days.”

“You’re hilarious, Thor,” Steve deadpanned. “Good thing you’re cute.”

“I am indeed cute,” Thor replied. “It is one of the many things I am known for.”

“Oh?” Steve replied, quirking an eyebrow. “What else are you known for?”

Thor’s hand came around and he ran his fingers up Steve’s side. Steve managed to suppress a shiver. Thor’s hand roamed from his side to his back, his nails scratching firmly but gently up Steve’s spine.

“I am known for being good with my hands,” Thor murmured in Steve’s ear. Steve actually did shiver at that. Thor hummed against him. “And I have been told that I have a sexy voice.”

“Mmm,” Steve moaned. “We’re in public, Thor.”

“We are not doing anything, love,” Thor said. Steve could hear the mischief in his voice. “There is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m simply listing the things which I am known for. I believe you have been known to say some of these same things, on occasion.”

“I pl-plead the fifth,” Steve replied. He jumped up before Thor could get any more ideas about the sorts of things he was known for and get them arrested for public indecency. The man would probably find it hilarious, in all likelihood.

“Leaving so soon, Steve?” Thor asked. “I thought you were weary form our day of frolicking and revelry.”

“I’m suddenly feeling more energetic,” Steve replied. “And whatever you want to do can wait until we’re at my place or yours.”

“Speaking of my place,” Thor said getting up. “I have something for you.”

Steve grinned. Gifts weren’t really his thing, but Thor was something of an exception. He put thought into his gifts and even though Steve didn’t get much out of them, he enjoyed receiving them from Thor.

“I wanted to give this to you before our friends drag you off to celebrate your 21st birthday in style,” Thor said.

“What is it?” Steve asked. “Should I be nervous?”

“I hope not,” Thor replied. “But you may, of course, refuse it if you are not comfortable with it.”

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small envelope, and handed it to Steve. Steve’s breath caught. He had a feeling… He opened the envelope and dumped out the contents. The only thing inside was… a key. He looked up at Thor in shock.

“I thought… your lease is up at the end of the month,” Thor said, a faint blush forming on his face. “I know that you enjoy living with your friends, but… I was hoping that you would be amenable to moving in… with me.”

“I can’t afford your rent, Thor!” Steve protested.

“I will take care of it,” Thor said. “I make enough money to pay.”

“Why? Why would you do this?” Steve asked. “I mean, not that I’m not grateful or anything, but… I’m just surprised.”

Thor shrugged and took Steve’s unoccupied hand. “Perhaps the apartment simply seems a little large for one person,” he said. “Perhaps I am no longer interested in having roommates, but I still wish to have someone live with me. Someone I love.”

Steve swallowed as his heart swelled. It was a beautiful sentiment and it would solve a lot of problems. It wasn’t as if Steve could afford a place as it was with the job he had. Being in school also meant that he didn’t have time to work as much as he wanted to be able to afford that kind of rent. Loans and scholarship money paid for most of his living expenses.

“Thor… I, I don’t know what to say,” Steve said.

“You do not have to decide now,” Thor said. “But I wanted to give this to you while you were still in your right mind.”

It was true, Steve’s lease was up at the end of the month. He, Sam, and Bucky had been discussing whether they wanted to renew the lease or try to find a cheaper apartment. Not much luck there, honestly, at least, not in anything that had enough space for three men their size. Hell, their apartment now was a bit of a squeeze when they had company over, but it was still manageable. Steve had been leaning towards renewal.

This, though… this was unexpected. Like, next level sort of unexpected. He, Steve Rogers, a dumb, pretentious art major, was considering moving in with Dr. Thor Odinson, a veterinarian who could star on those calendars of hot men holding baby animals.

“Thanks, Thor,” Steve said. “I… I promise I’ll think about it, okay?”

A hopeful smile bloomed on Thor’s face. “That is all I ask for, Steve.”

Steve took his hand. “Hey, it’s still my birthday. What do you say we enjoy it while it lasts?”

Thor laced their fingers together. “I say that sounds like a wonderful idea.”

* * *

A week later, Steve had his answer. He called Thor and told him that he would be happy to move in with him. The decision was made in no small part because Sam, Bucky, and Peggy were all ecstatic to hear about this development. They were all, subsequently, shocked to hear that Steve hadn’t immediately said yes.

Steve and Thor spent the rest of the month packing his stuff into boxes. Steve went ahead and moved the clothes he wasn’t using into the closet in Thor’s apartment. Thor, evidently, had assumed that Steve would say yes and set aside half the closet space for his use. Thankfully, Steve’s clothes weren’t all that fancy and nearly everything he owned that he didn’t use for work or his internship was covered in various art stains. It was something of a stark contrast to Thor’s clothes, which ranged from discreet and practical to fancy and posh.

At the end of the month, Steve added his name to Thor’s lease, even though he had no way of paying the rent. They agreed that he would pay for the groceries and that his loans would help pay for any expenses that came up. Steve absolutely refused for Thor to take on the entire burden himself. Thankfully, the landlord, some guy named Heimdall, didn’t raise the rent as much as he could have.

A week before classes started, Steve and Thor cuddled on the couch as Steve went over his schedule for the upcoming semester. It was going to be busy, but there was no way around that. Thor was kept busy at the clinic, but it was nice being able to come home and see him. It was… surprisingly domestic.

“You know, Bucky’s come up with a new nickname for you,” Steve said idly as he was ordering his books.

“Oh? What’s that?” Thor asked.

“He calls you my sugar daddy,” Steve said with a grin.

“That’s ridiculous,” Thor said. “How am _I_ your sugar daddy? I haven’t even bought you lingerie yet.”

Steve snorted. “”Yeah, come on, where are all the nice things you’re supposed to buy me?”

“I put a roof over your head,” Thor pointed out. “I also cook most of the food, as you are not to be trusted around the stove.”

“Hey, I burned the poptarts _one time!_ ” Steve protested.

“And the toast. And there was that time you tried to surprise me with breakfast. Also the time you accidentally microwaved leftovers too long and you smoked up the apartment. Did you forget about—”

Steve silenced him with a pillow to the face. “Okay, I get it. I can’t cook.”

Thor glared at him and grabbed his own pillow and hit him back. Steve gasped, affronted and hit him again. Thor chuckled as he caught the pillow.

“Shit!” Steve hissed and raced towards the bedroom with Thor hot on his trail. They laughed as they fought. Feathers went flying until Thor decided to forego his weapon and tackled Steve to the ground. Steve tried to get the upper hand, but Thor had him pinned to the ground.

“Do you yield?” Thor growled lowly. The sound sent shivers up Steve’s spine. Steve struggled some more, but Thor held him fast.

“Fine. You win,” Steve grumbled. Thor hummed and kissed his neck.

“Good,” he murmured. He began to kiss his way towards Steve’s ear. “Because,” kiss, “I think,” kiss, “that as the,” kiss, “victor, I,” kiss, “deserve a,” kiss, “prize.”

Steve shivered with anticipation. “Do you have something in mind?”

Thor grinned and picked him up off the floor and carried him to the bed. They made love, slow and sweet until Steve thought he might surely explode from the pleasure. Thor was… incredible and he knew how to play Steve’s body as no one else had ever managed to do. When Steve finally came, his orgasm ran through him like he was a live wire connected to Thor, hot and intense and so very alive. Thor collapsed on the bed next to him and they kissed tenderly until Steve giggled.

“What? What is it?” Thor asked with a grin.

“Nothing, it’s just,” Steve sighed. “I’m glad Peggy set me up with you all those months ago.”

Thor smiled and kissed Steve’s forehead. “As am I, Steve,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! That's the end! Let me know what y'all think!
> 
> Come [tumble](https://leisurelypanda.tumblr.com/) with me! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos give me life, y'all! <3
> 
> Full disclosure: I have tried numerous times to read _Game of Thrones_ and failed for exactly the reasons that Thor describes. Both the other authors are real people and I love their work.
> 
> Come [tumble](https://leisurelypanda.tumblr.com/) with me!


End file.
